Dashed left edge = started before January 1883 ·
Dashed right edge = ongoing beyond January 1883
Events in January 1883 2
1832 – 1883Gustave Doré (1832-1883)Died 23 January 1883, aged 50Doré was a French artist and illustrator famed for his engravings for the Bible, Dante's Inferno, and Don Quixote. His dramatic, densely detailed illustrations shaped the visual imagination of countless readers.
1883Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act signedUnited States begins merit-based federal hiringPresident Chester A. Arthur signed the Pendleton Act on 16 January, establishing a merit-based system for federal government jobs and creating the Civil Service Commission. It ended much of the patronage-based spoils system following the 1881 assassination of President Garfield by a disappointed office seeker.